May 2026 · 15 min read

The Costa del Sol holiday rental landscape has changed more in the last 18 months than it has in the previous decade. If you're buying a property here with the idea of letting it short-term, the rules you read about online two years ago are almost certainly out of date.

This guide covers what's actually in force right now, what's coming, and where the real opportunities sit. It's written for foreign buyers, expats and second-home owners who want a clear-eyed picture before they sign anything.

I'm Gosia, the founder of The Dream Spaces, an interior design studio in Málaga working primarily with foreign buyers across the Costa del Sol. The legal context shapes everything we do, because the type of let you can legally run determines how the property should be designed to actually perform. So let's start with the rules, then talk about what they mean for your investment and how the right design pulls it all together.

The Málaga tourist licence moratorium

Málaga city has stopped issuing new tourist rental licences. Not slowed down, not made it harder. Stopped.

In August 2025, the city council approved a comprehensive moratorium that suspends all new tourist accommodation registrations across the entire municipality for up to three years, or until a new General Urban Development Plan (PGOU - the master planning document that defines how land in the city can be used) is approved. The High Court of Justice of Andalucía upheld the legal basis for the freeze in late 2025, so this is no longer something that might be challenged away.

If you're buying in Málaga city right now and assumed you'd register the property as a tourist let, you can't. Not unless the property already has an active VFT licence attached to it, in which case that licence transfers to you with the sale.

The moratorium follows two earlier waves of restriction:

The first restriction, in February 2024, banned new licences in any apartment without an independent street entrance. Guests could not pass through the communal areas of a residential building. That single rule disqualified most central Málaga apartments overnight.

The second restriction created three zones across 417 neighbourhoods. Forty-three neighbourhoods where holiday rentals already exceeded 8% of the housing stock were declared saturated and closed to new licences. Thirty-two more were marked as containment zones, where licences were allowed only up to the 8% ceiling. The remaining residential neighbourhoods could grow, but only with the independent-entrance rule applied.

Then in August 2025, the city extended the freeze to every neighbourhood regardless of density. The fines for operating without a licence reach €50,000.

Tourist licence rules outside Málaga city

The Málaga moratorium is a city decision. It does not apply to surrounding municipalities, and the rest of the Costa del Sol remains broadly open for new tourist licences under the standard Andalusian rules.

Marbella has not capped licence numbers but is drafting a new municipal ordinance and exploring zoning restrictions in its forthcoming PGOU (General Urban Development Plan). New tourist licences are still being granted.

Fuengirola, Benalmádena, Estepona and Torremolinos are all currently open to new tourist licences. Fuengirola has reclassified holiday rentals to pay a higher municipal garbage collection rate.

Nerja, Torrox, Rincón de la Victoria and Vélez-Málaga also remain open under standard rules.

Inland Axarquía is fully open and increasingly popular for villa rentals.

Marbella and Estepona Old Town remain attractive for higher-end design-led properties. Benalmádena and Fuengirola work well for family-friendly two and three-bed apartments. Inland villages offer space and authenticity at a lower entry point, with rental yields to match.

The 60% community of owners rule

Since 3 April 2025, the Spanish Horizontal Property Law requires that any new tourist rental application, in a municipality that still allows new licences such as Fuengirola, Estepona or Marbella, must be approved by a 60% majority of all owners in the building or development, holding 60% of the participation quotas. Not 60% of those who turn up to the meeting. 60% of every owner in the building.

It applies to apartments, townhouses in urbanizaciones, and even villas in gated complexes with shared facilities. Only fully standalone properties with no community of owners are exempt.

A few important nuances. The vote is required for new licence applications. Properties with valid tourist licences in place before 3 April 2025 are protected and continue to operate. Communities can also impose a surcharge of up to 20% on community fees for tourist-let units, again with the same 60% vote, and this surcharge can apply to existing licensed units.

After months of confusion, the position on transfers is now settled. If you buy a property with an existing valid licence, the licence transfers to you and you don't need fresh community approval to inherit it.

For a buyer, this means three checks before you sign anything: confirm whether the property is in a community, request the community's minutes and statutes to see whether tourist rentals have been voted on, and check whether the existing licence is genuinely current and active.

The two layers of registration: VFT and NRUA

The VFT (Vivienda con Fines Turísticos) is your Andalusian regional tourist licence, filed with the Registro de Turismo de Andalucía. It doesn't expire and transfers with the property.

The NRUA (Número de Registro Único de Arrendamiento), introduced in July 2025, is required to advertise on any platform that handles bookings and payments online. Airbnb, Booking, Vrbo and Expedia are all covered. Without an NRUA on the listing, the platform must remove it.

There's also a new annual obligation tied to the NRUA. Every February, owners must file a modelo informativo at the Land Registry summarising the previous year's rental activity, even if the property had no bookings. The first filing window ran from 1 February to 2 March 2026. Failing to file risks revocation of the NRUA, which means platforms remove your listings.

When tourist licences get revoked

Tourist licences in Andalusia are now legally tied to the property rather than the owner, which gives buyers more security than a year ago. But licences can still lapse or be cancelled. The most common reasons: the property no longer meets technical or habitability requirements; the owner voluntarily cancels; the change of titleholder process isn't completed after a sale; the annual NRUA filing is missed; or the Andalusian tourism authorities open sanctioning proceedings for non-compliance.

This is why due diligence on a property that already has a licence isn't just about confirming the number exists. It's about confirming the licence is genuinely active, the registry data is current, the community status is documented, and there's no community ban in place.

What's coming next: proposed legislation

The 100% non-EU buyer tax. The Spanish government has submitted a draft bill that would impose a 100% tax on second-hand property purchases by non-EU non-residents. EU residents and UK nationals with Spanish residency permits are exempt. The bill faces parliamentary and EU legal challenges, but it's no longer just political talk.

21% VAT on tourist rentals. VAT on short-term tourist rentals may rise from 10% to 21%, changing the maths on yield significantly.

The new Málaga PGOU (General Urban Development Plan) is being rewritten now, and when it lands the moratorium will likely be replaced by a permanent zoning system that retains the 8% saturation cap and formally recognises mid-term, coliving and flexliving formats as alternatives. Stronger inspection and enforcement of illegal lets is already happening across all the major municipalities.

Mid-term rentals: the legal alternative most buyers haven't considered

A mid-term rental is a furnished property let for a defined temporary period, typically one to eleven months, to someone whose primary residence is somewhere else. It's a contrato de arrendamiento de temporada under the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos. Not a tourist let, not a long-term residential lease. A separate legal category.

Who rents mid-term: digital nomads on the Spanish DNV, remote workers doing project stints, relocating expats waiting to find a permanent home, snowbirds wintering in Spain, people renovating their primary residence, corporate assignments, medical stays.

The yields sit between holiday lets and long-term rentals. A central two-bed apartment in Málaga that might earn €4,000 a month at peak Airbnb rates and €1,400 long-term will typically let mid-term at €2,000-2,800. Lower than holiday-let peak, but with less management, no platform fees, no cleaning between guests, no licence risk, and crucially, no exposure to whichever new restriction lands next.

How interior design changes the maths

The kind of property you can legally run determines how it needs to be designed to actually perform. They are genuinely different briefs, and most owners try to design one type and operate another, which is why so many properties underperform.

Designing for holiday rentals

A holiday rental needs to stand out at first glance. Guests are choosing from twenty similar listings on Airbnb in three minutes. Photographs do almost all the selling. The interior has to deliver visual impact in the first three frames: a strong opening shot, a hero kitchen or living space, a bedroom that feels like a hotel rather than a spare room. Surfaces need to be light, well-styled, free of clutter. The brief is editorial, photogenic, slightly elevated above what a private home would be.

Designing for mid-term rentals

A mid-term rental is a different game entirely. The guest is going to live there for two, four, eight months. They'll cook, work, do laundry, host friends, sleep through Tuesday nights, and judge the property on whether it's a place they want to come home to, not whether it photographs well. They need a proper desk, fast WiFi, wardrobe space for a season's clothing, a kitchen that someone can actually cook in, blackout in the bedrooms. The aesthetic should feel calm and lived-in, neutral enough that the tenant can put a few things out and feel at home, but with enough character that the property still photographs well at the listing stage.

Designing for long-term rentals

A long-term rental is closer to mid-term but stripped further back. Less personality, more durability. Surfaces and finishes that handle five years of family life. Storage solutions that work across seasons of use.

Why this matters for your return

Designing a property correctly for its actual use is what separates a property that books at the top of its market from one that sits in the middle. The design also has to work across the full year. Costa del Sol summers and winters are very different, and properties that only work in August underperform on shoulder-season pricing.

Properties with a clear point of view book higher rates and longer stays. A well-designed mid-term flat in Málaga can hold a 30% premium over the average for its size. A well-designed holiday villa books peak weeks at full ADR and shoulder weeks at rates other properties can't reach.

A decision tree for foreign buyers

Where is the property? If it's Málaga city, you need an existing licence transferring with the sale or you're looking at mid-term or long-term only. If it's any other Costa del Sol municipality, new tourist licences are still possible.

Is it in a community of owners? If yes, check the community's position on tourist rentals before you sign anything.

What's the actual demand profile in the area? Beach-front Marbella has a different optimal use than inland Axarquía. Some neighbourhoods perform better mid-term than as holiday lets.

What kind of property is it? A two-bed apartment in Soho is a different proposition from a four-bed villa in the hills. The legal route, the design brief and the income model all flow from this.